Gold Garnered by Foreign Swimmer in Yangtze River Crossing Festival

By Xu Kuang

Gold Garnered by Foreign Swimmer in Yangtze River Crossing Festival

By Xu Kuang

“Crossing the great Yangtze River, the eternal sky spreads endlessly. ” Swimming across the Yangtze River in Wuhan has historically been a popular activity. In the past 61 years, tremendous changes have been witnessed in Wuhan City and Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival has become one of the city’s in fluential cultural events.

China’s Chairman Mao Zedong had his first swim in the Yangtze River in Wuhan in 1956, after which was born the famous poem Swimming. In the 10 years following his first experience, he swam in the Yangtze River more than 10 times. It was in 1956 that the first Yangtze River crossing competition was held. Since then, it has become a wellknown festival of Wuhan City.

Therefore, with a halt in the tradition in 2016 due to flooding, Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival was back on July 16th,2017 and it was a great showcase of the charms of the city and the river.

This year the swimmers were divided into two groups:the timed competition joined by professional swimmers,and the amateurs’ session. The competition had attracted more than 10 foreign professional swimmers from Germany, the U.S., Sweden, and other countries.

“万里长江横渡，极目楚天舒”，武汉横渡长江活动历史悠久，久负盛名，见证武汉61年巨变，武汉国际渡江节成为当地富有特色的城市文化名片。

1956年，毛泽东在武汉首次畅游，游后乘兴写个著名的《水调歌头•游泳》。往后十年间，他在武汉畅游长江十余次。也是在1956年，武汉举办新中国成立后的第一届横渡长江竞赛。从此，横渡长江成为武汉的标志。

于是，2016年因长江防汛任务重而取消的武汉国际渡江节，今年7月16日重磅归来，向世界展示武汉和长江的魅力。

本届渡江节分为专业运动员的抢渡赛和群众方阵横渡两个部分。抢渡赛吸引德国、美国、瑞典等国家的10名外籍选手参赛。

最终，男子冠亚军被瑞典选手包揽。克里斯蒂安·阿克塞尔·埃里克隆和上届渡江节冠军西蒙·万那相隔4秒，相继登岸。女子组的前三名均为武汉选手。

报告文学作家黎笙作为学生方阵的一员，1966年时，曾与毛泽东一起游泳横渡长江。

● Left: the Brone Medalist; Middle: the Gold Medalist; Right: the Silver Medalist男子抢渡赛前三名（左起：季军冠军亚军）

At last, the men’s gold was won by Swedish swimmer,Christian Axel Ericlong, who was merely 4 seconds faster than the gold winner of last year, Simon Wana. The top three female winners were all from Wuhan.

Li Sheng, now a reportage writer, was once a student participant in 1966 to cross the river together with Chairman Mao Zedong.

He said that the tradition of crossing the Yangtze River in Wuhan had been known internationally very early in 1961 when British Marshal Montgomery visited China and was invited to watch Chairman Mao Zedong swimming across the Yangtze River. He was also given the poem Swimming autographed by Chairman Mao as a gift before he went back to Britain.

“Swimming across the Yangtze River used to be just a fun sport for the people but now it has become an annual festival. It is Wuhan’s city card, ” said Li Sheng. Now,Wuhan is an international cosmopolitan city. Into the new era, Wuhan’s city planning was centered around the Yangtze River, which gives the festival a new meaning, that is, for building a better Wuhan, we shall unite as one and act in unity.

Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival bears an important mission for the future of this city.Economically, Wuhan should develop in an innovative manner, for example, initiating a new city of the Yangtze River; Culturally, this mega city will demonstrate its people’s strong will against hardship and also their passion for life.

Hu Liuming, a local writer, has suggested that the festival should welcome more international participants just as how marathons and bicycle races do. All forms and types of media should be involved to introduce the event to home and abroad bilingually in Chinese and English. What’s more, foreigners working in international organizations should be invited to join the event so as to let more people know of Wuhan internationally.

She hopes that Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival can truly become an international carnival.

(Translation：Zhang Lei)

● Left: the Brone Medalist; Middle: the Gold Medalist; Right: the Silver Medalist女子抢渡赛前三名（左起：季军冠军亚军）

他认为，武汉渡江传统很早就在国际上有过“表达”。1961年，英国元帅蒙哥马利访华，受邀在武汉的轮船上观看毛泽东游泳，回国前，他还获赠毛泽东亲笔书写的词《水调歌头·游泳》。

“横渡长江，以前只是一种全民体育锻炼，演变为每年一度的节日，成为一项群众性的宣示活动，对这座城市形象的宣示。”黎笙说，武汉是一座国际大都市，在新的历史时期，武汉长江主轴的规划和建设，赋予长江横渡活动新的内涵：建设大武汉，我们要团结一心，众志成城。

武汉国际渡江节今后要扩大其品牌影响力，需将渡江活动与新的历史高度结合起来：在经济上，要建设一座长江新城；在文化上，要展示我们这座超级大城砥砺前行、不畏困难的精神风貌。

武汉作家胡榴明提议，国际渡江节应欢迎更多世界各国选手报名参加，如国际马拉松和自行车赛那样。启动各种传播媒介和传播方式，将武汉国际渡江节的新闻向全中国民众宣传、向全世界民众宣传，要做到广为人知，传播文字和语言要中英双语。邀请在武汉的国外企事业机构相关人员参与节日活动，扩大武汉国际化影响力。

她希望，武汉国际渡江节能成为一个真正意义上的国际化盛大节日。

（本刊综合报道）

● The Cheering Squad of “Zhiyinhao”啦啦队在知音号上为渡江选手们加油

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